| Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF | |
|
|
|
The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible | 
 enlarge | Author: A. J. Jacobs
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy New: $10.20
You Save: $4.80 (32%)
New (51) Used (15) from $8.34
Rating:  430 reviews
Sales Rank: 1362
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Pages: 416
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7
ISBN: 0743291484
Dewey Decimal Number: 220
EAN: 9780743291484
ASIN: 0743291484
Publication Date: September 9, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
| |
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
Amazon Best of the Month, September 2007: Make no mistake: A.J. Jacobs is not a religious man. He describes himself as Jewish "in the same way the Olive Garden is an Italian restaurant." Yet his latest work, The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible, is an insightful and hilarious journey for readers of all faiths. Though no fatted calves were harmed in the making of this book, Jacobs chronicles 12 months living a remarkably strict Biblical life full of charity, chastity, and facial hair as impressive as anything found in The Lord of the Rings. Through it all, he manages to brilliantly keep things light, while avoiding the sinful eye of judgment. --Dave Callanan Amazon.com
Subtitled: "One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible," Jacobs, or A.J., as his two-year-old son calls him, does just that. It is likely that no one but A.J. Jacobs could have accomplished such a feat. After all, his last book, The Know-It-All, chronicles his reading of the entire Encyclopedia Brittanica, from A to Z. No one but a smart, witty, self-deprecating, nitpicky kinda guy would undertake two such daunting tasks, and complete them with grace, no pun intended. Jacobs, a New York Jewish agnostic, decides to follow the laws and rules of the Bible, beginning with the Old Testament, for one year. (He actually adds some bonus days and makes it a 381-day year.) He starts by growing a beard and we are with him through every itchy moment. Jacobs is borderline OCD, at least as he describes himself; obsessing over possible dangers to his son, germs, literal interpretation of Bible verses, etc. He enlists the aid of counselors along the way; Jewish rabbis, Christians of every stripe, friends and neighbors. In an open-minded way he also visits with atheists, Evangelicals Concerned (a gay group), Jerry Falwell, snake handlers, Red Letter Christians--those who adhere to the red letters in the Bible, those words spoken by Jesus Himself, and even takes a trip to Israel and meets Samaritans. Through it all, he keeps a healthy skepticism, but continues to pray and is open to the flowering of real faith. Jacobs is a knowledge junky, to be sure. He enjoys the lore he picks up along the way as much as any other aspect of his experiment. One of the ongoing schticks is his meeting with the shatnez tester, Mr. Berkowitz. He is the one who determines whether or not your clothes are made of mixed fibers, in keeping with the Biblical injunction not to wear wool and linen together. The two become friends and prayer partners, in only one of the unexpected results of this year. In the end, he says, "I'm now a reverent agnostic. Which isn't an oxymoron, I swear. I now believe that whether or not there's a God, there is such a thing as sacredness. Life is sacred." Not a bad outcome. --Valerie Ryan
Product Description
From the bestselling author of The Know-It-All comes a fascinating and timely exploration of religion and the Bible.Raised in a secular family but increasingly interested in the relevance of faith in our modern world, A.J. Jacobs decides to dive in headfirst and attempt to obey the Bible as literally as possible for one full year. He vows to follow the Ten Commandments. To be fruitful and multiply. To love his neighbor. But also to obey the hundreds of less publicized rules: to avoid wearing clothes made of mixed fibers; to play a ten-string harp; to stone adulterers. The resulting spiritual journey is at once funny and profound, reverent and irreverent, personal and universal and will make you see history's most influential book with new eyes. Jacobs's quest transforms his life even more radically than the year spent reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica for The Know-It-All. His beard grows so unruly that he is regularly mistaken for a member of ZZ Top. He immerses himself in prayer, tends sheep in the Israeli desert, battles idolatry, and tells the absolute truth in all situations - much to his wife's chagrin. Throughout the book, Jacobs also embeds himself in a cross-section of communities that take the Bible literally. He tours a Kentucky-based creationist museum and sings hymns with Pennsylvania Amish. He dances with Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn and does Scripture study with Jehovah's Witnesses. He discovers ancient biblical wisdom of startling relevance. And he wrestles with seemingly archaic rules that baffle the twenty-first-century brain.Jacobs's extraordinary undertaking yields unexpected epiphanies and challenges. A book that will charm readers both secular and religious, The Year of Living Biblically is part Cliff Notes to the Bible, part memoir, and part look into worlds unimaginable. Thou shalt not be able to put it down.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 425 more reviews...
 Thou shalt read this book August 26, 2007
mrliteral
238 out of 253 found this review helpful
Around a year ago, I read my first book by A.J. Jacobs, The Know-It-All, a memoir of the author's quest to read the entire Encyclopaedia Britannica. As a follow-up to that top-notch book, he has taken on a shorter but more difficult book, The Bible. For a year, Jacobs intended to follow the commandments of the Bible as literally as possible: not just the well-known ones (like "Thou shalt not kill") but the obscure ones as well (such as wearing clothes of mixed fibers). It was to be, as the book title states, The Year of Living Biblically.
The first problem with undertaking such a task is that there are a lot of different Bibles out there and even more ways to interpret what's in them. While Jacobs seems to rely mostly on the Revised Standard Version, he consults other versions as well. Over the course of the year he will meet with a number of different religious groups and individuals representing a broad spectrum of interpretations.
The nice thing about the Encyclopaedia Britannica was it was pretty straightforward, with little wiggle room for misreading. But in the Bible, almost everything can be read at least two ways. Even the Ten Commandments are subject to multiple interpretations: Does the commandment against killing mean all killing? What about executions? It is this ambiguity that lets the Bible fit almost all agendas. Is the Bible pro- or anti-slavery? What is its views on abortion, homosexuality or the roles of women? As Jacobs finds during the year, there is no true agreement. (And if the Bible has a message that contradicts your ideals, do you reject your ideals or (at least in part) the Bible?)
Jacobs finds that truly living Biblically - adhering to all the restrictions - is virtually impossible, and he finds that even the most literal reader of the book engages in some picking and choosing. As a self-described secular Jew, there is much that he personally disagrees with, but he is respectful of every faith he meets. Many times, he even finds his preconceptions about certain groups to be different from reality. He also finds that for even the obscure commandments, there are experts who can assist him, such as the man who can tell you if your clothes do truly violate the stricture on mixed fibers.
As Jacobs goes through the year, he finds that he is personally changing: the act of living Biblically changes the very way he thinks. He doesn't become a religious fanatic, but his worldview is affected. Throughout, however, he keeps his sense of humor and there are plenty of funny moments in the book. Overall, this is a superb follow-up to The Know-It-All (I think it helps if you've read that one first, but it's not essential). For a look at the Bible that is illuminating and simultaneously reverent and irreverent, this book is the one to read.
 Cute book August 21, 2007
E. Schechter (West Chester, PA United States)
225 out of 335 found this review helpful
This book is amusing, and it is educational, and it shows thought about the various manifestations of Biblical religion.
It could have been so much more. It could have been wildly funny, and enlightening, and moving. It's such a good idea, and such a rich topic, and it has been given all the depth of an article in TV Guide.
The author decided to live by the rules of the Bible for a year; eight months of Old Testament, four of New (actually, the time ran a bit over). He made a list of all the things he was supposed to do, and went around doing them; at least, he went around doing the ones that can be done today--no animal sacrifices. Rather than stoning transgressors, he walked around with pebbles to toss at them. He gave to charity, and he probably drove his wife (who spent most of this time pregnant with twins) to distraction. The issue of credibility bothered me a bit, in that he seemed to bring almost no religious or cultural baggage to this endeavor.
And he talked to experts and tried to experience the various forms of Biblical literalism. He had a group of preachers and rabbis for reference. He went to Lancaster and spent a day or so at an Amish B&B. He danced with the Hasidim on Simchat Torah. He went to Israel and talked to various people of various persuasions. And every time he did one of these things, I wanted to be able to ask, "Yes? And then what happened? And did you ask him about...?" He never really did. He spent his time looking for dry information and--to use the word he overused so much--epiphanies.
The book does have some things going for it. It would be the perfect book to take on a trip; it's amusing, it can be picked up and put down at almost any point, and it does not require a lot of concentration. It is written smoothly, and it's easy reading; it should offend nobody. I wish a bit that it had more bite. Honestly, the book does not pretend to be anything profound, so perhaps the problem is mine; I had hoped for much more meaty content.
Light-hearted but insightful look at a very serious subject August 22, 2007
A. Reid (NC, USA)
123 out of 131 found this review helpful
Towards the end of this book, author AJ Jacobs speaks of the emptiness he experiences when he completes a project. I know the feeling. I have it now. I hate to put down his book.
This book is a travelogue, with Jacobs documenting his journey through terrain both strange and familiar. Throughout, he exhibits a self-deprecating wit that in no way undermines his insight. Laugh out loud funny? It is that. But even when he's wagging his bushy beard at something absurd, Jacobs' humor is neither cynical nor mean-spirited. His observations feel unflinchingly frank, but never superior--he is quick to acknowledge that he is as eccentric as anyone.
None of this is meant to imply that this book will be a comfortable fit for everyone. He is, after all, pointing out some of the more unusual and esoteric Biblical rules, trying them on, questioning them, looking at the people who follow them. I felt he handled the subject of Biblical literalism with meticulous respect, but some readers might be made uneasy at such scrutiny of sacred cows. And that would be a shame. Because while it's easy to laugh at his humor, it's equally important to reflect on his subtext. What are the psychological and social impacts of ritualism? There's a lot to be learned from an outsider looking in.
Like any good tour guide, Jacobs has come to feel like a friend, and I'm going to miss him. Until next trip.
And on the eighth day, God created the publicity stunt August 28, 2007
Ashley Megan (Vernon, CT United States)
58 out of 81 found this review helpful
And A. J. Jacobs looked, and saw that it was good. And he rejoiced, and spake unto his agent, saying "I have a really cool idea, one that will, like, totally make me famous." And lo, did his wife suffer.
The concept of this book seems like a good one. The problem is in the execution (isn't it always?). I have no problem with Jacobs's stated goal: to spend one year living out the hundreds of commandments in the Bible, from the major (no murder) to the minor (no wearing clothes of mixed fibers). What I do take issue with is his flip attitude towards the project, the way he constantly needs to reassure the reader that he's cooler than this, that none of this is changing his mind about God (Jacobs is an agnostic), and hey, isn't this a great idea? Oh, and did he mention he writes for Esquire magazine?
Part of the problem is the inconsistency with which he carries out this admittedly ambitious project. Now, that's not bad per se; things happen, and you can't blame the guy for finding creative ways around roadblocks. But at least acknowledge that that's what you're doing! When he first sets out his rules for himself, Jacobs declares that he wants to follow the "original intent" of the commandments, rather than following them to the letter. He seems to think that by recognizing metaphors like "be fruitful and multiply" don't mean doing algebra homework, that he's being incredibly witty and profound. Yet by month 10, he's forgotten all that and says instead that he had always intended to "take everything literally, even those sentences that were clearly metaphorical." When the Bible says to wear white, most scholars agree that it's a term for being joyful. Jacobs buys a white hoodie from the Gap and wears it pretty much the entire year, delighting in the stares he draws. Come on. What Jacobs is really doing is no different from any other individual or group who reads the Bible selectively - he's picking and choosing, although in his case it's a question of how to follow the commandments, rather than which commandments he'll follow.
Parts of this book are delightful. It's roaring fun to read, with plenty of enjoyable supporting characters who manage to slip around Jacobs's enormous self-involvement, from his long-suffering wife Julie to the overly enthusiastic shatnez tester, Mr. Berkowitz. (Although if he referred to Elton Richards as the "pastor out to pasture" one more time, I was ready to throw the book across the room.) One thing Jacobs doesn't lack for is a sense of humor, which helps a lot in some of the sections that could have become quite uncomfortable, like when he visits Jerry Falwell's church.
In other cases, though, that humor just makes him sound snarky and trivializes his subject. For instance, he visits with a Bible study group made up of gay men, and the most insightful observation he can draw is that they seem to like talking about clothes a lot. Really? At times he seems to approach his various interviews and experiences more as good writing material than as worthy in their own right. And when he can't wring any humor out of the situation, he often gives up, as in his interview with an Amish man. Beyond repeating a few Amish jokes that Amos shares with him, it appears that Jacobs basically sat across from the poor man for 15 minutes, uttering banalities, until the interview was over.
Again, with a different topic, this approach probably works a lot better. I hadn't read Jacobs's previous book, "The Know-it-All," but my friend assures me it was great. Unfortunately, in tackling such a huge subject, one so weighted with significance for so many people, Jacobs just highlights his own limitations. He comes across as flip and immature, one of those annoying "aren't I hip and ironic and stuff" Gen-X writers making light of 2000-year-old traditions. I would have loved to have seen this project tackled by a writer with more gravitas, and I still might check out more of Jacobs's other works. But this is definitely a case of a writer biting off more than he could chew.
blogging the Bible August 31, 2007
Nadyne Mielke (Mountain View, CA USA)
52 out of 71 found this review helpful
AJ Jacobs, who describes himself in this book as a "memoir writer", takes on the Bible in this lightweight tome. I feel like I'm reading his blog instead of a book. He numbers the days, telling me what he's done on that day. He avoids (deliberately or not, I'm unsure) introspection. Introspection does peep out, here and there, but ultimately it's mostly a listing of his days.
The majority of the book focuses on the Old Testament. This is the stronger part of the book. Jacobs, a secular Jew himself, is more comfortable with Judaism and says that he feels a connection to the Old Testament. As such, his writing in this part of the book is more warm and genuine. He is an active participant in the first part of the book. The last four chapters focus on the New Testament, but he mostly holds it at a distance. He talks with people instead of living the life. The only way that he seems to change his behaviour is by not jaywalking in Manhattan.
Like a well-written blog, there are some moments that are genuinely funny. He provides glimpses into some of the more esoteric laws from the Bible and what following them in this modern age would look like. When he begins to follow the law about avoiding women who are unclean for seven days after their menstration, his wife retaliates by sitting on every chair in their apartment so that he cannot. He is reduced to sitting on their toddler son's stepstool. (I have to admit that I cheered for his wife at that point, who I felt deserved commendation for putting up with this project of her husband's.) Stoning adulterers has him keeping pebbles in his pockets to throw at adulterers, and almost results in an altercation in Central Park.
I wanted this book to be more than it was. I wanted more insight, more introspection. I wanted Jacobs to do a deep dive into the question of religious literalism and how living in that manner impacted his life. I wanted interesting discussions of the differences between literalism as practiced by Jews and Christians. I often found myself annoyed at how often the author mentioned his previous book or that he writes for Esquire. The back cover didn't set my expectations properly -- for example, it says that he sang hymns with Pennsylvania Amish. Well, yeah, he stayed at an Amish B&B for a weekend, and that was something he did while there. I thought that he'd be more involved with the community, not a literal tourist. That isn't really a meaningful experience by any method of record-keeping.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the book. It was funny. It has provoked some interesting conversations with friends (all of which were significantly deeper than anything managed in this book). I'm glad that I read it. I might even recommend it to a friend. But it's not something that I'll ever read again. It's a throwaway pop memoir, and I won't care in five years -- and possibly not five minutes.
I have to say that it's a bit odd writing an Amazon review for a book that I know will be read by the author, and that the author's father will probably click the "not helpful" link. So, umm, hi. Sorry I didn't like your book as much as you might have hoped that I would.
|
|
|
| |
